The Possession Arc
The Possession Arc is the point at which the Original Timeline deviates from its intended path, resulting in the Break that forms the multiverse. Originally a thought-experiment exploring the possible reality of Helvah's nightmares, Possession was a one-shot, followed by Sweet Surrender, a sequel addressing the aftermath. What followed was a sequence of events that spiraled out of control, revolving around Helvah's murdered brother, Vischias, and Frederick's unseen protector, the unnamed ethereal that would become Fred. OT Deviations The Possession Arc takes place towards the end of the Kingdom of Yaoi, just prior to Duty-Bound, preventing those events from taking place and changing the plot entirely from that point on. The major changes from the OT are: * Helvah's nightmares become reality. Vischias appears as a vengeful poltergeist, hellbent on making his brother's fragile existence a living nightmare. Vischias regularly resorts to possessing him in order to torment the people he loves. After the first time (Possession), Helvah is left unaware that this is happening (explained below), seeing only the result and his own loss of time. He begins to believe that he has gone mad. * Whiltheld's gauntlet is revealed to be a talisman that repels Vischias' control, imbued with their fathers' wish for Helvah's safety. That Helvah wears it at all times is only to cover the self-inflicted scars carved into his right arm. In this context, it's implied that Vischias' ghost put these marks on Helvah directly after his death, in an act of hate that binds them together. The presence of the gauntlet disrupts this connection, giving it the ability to ward Vischias off when worn. * Frederick's state as a masoca is established, though Frederick himself remains largely unaware. * Frederick is also revealed to be unknowingly under the protection of a summoned entity. Its presence is triggered when Frederick is in danger, save for the first encounter with Vischias. This being later becomes Fred. * Fred is a Djinn, an ethereal entity of boundless power, hampered by his limited use Frederick's delicate mortal body. Among his powers are the ability to steal and erase memories, and to suppress Frederick's consciousness in order to replace him. He is bound to a jeweled dagger, owned by Jasper, an assassin-thief involved with Frederick's father. Jasper's ownership of the dagger leaves Fred irrevocably under his control. He's not happy about it, but he's resigned. * Vischias is brought into focus and his past explored through his interactions with Fred. In particular, his descent into madness is closely examined. Though vilified at first, he is humanized far more than was ever done in canon, with a sympathetic light shone on his continuing struggle with undiagnosed mental illness. Possession Nothing stands between us here And I won't be denied The Palace sat beneath the heavy mantle of a monstrous storm. The winds and the rain battered the windows like a hundred million stones against the glass, the dark halls lit only by the infrequent jag of lightning. High above in the tower, the Royal Inquisitor sat by candlelight, examining his reflection in the darkened mirror of his vanity. As the thunder trembled through the stone, he blew the candle out and departed. Only his gauntlet remained. Frederick wandered the frigid halls that night, armed with only a torch, and the heavy cloak Helvah left him, and the sense that something is wrong. Though convinced his restlessness was not from fear, he felt ill-at-ease, and so set out in search of what was troubling him. Little did he know that trouble had spotted him a distance off, and made quick work of closing the distance. A flash of sudden lightning revealed a presence at the end of the hall. It was Helvah, or so it appeared. Frederick's relief at the sight of him was short-lived. Half-dressed and bedraggled, his gait and stance somehow off in the dark, his appearance put him off at once. Still, he approached him, questioning his state and health, as something must have been wrong. The answer he got was a targeted one; unable to sleep, Helvah had meant to seek him out, and was happy to find him. Even the tone of his voice, so low and rasping, seemed out of place. Worried that he might be ill, Frederick attempted to send him to rest, only to be invited--somewhat forwardly--to accompany him. Helvah snatched him close then, startling him into dropping his cloak, and insisted that he come along. That his presence was missed, and anything amiss in him could be remedied by his company in his chambers. At the back of Helvah's mind, something screamed. Then, it was promptly suppressed. Frederick's concern for Helvah was tempered by the disquiet that came over him as that cloak pooled on the floor. A token of Helvah's first affections for him, the sight of it discarded filled him with a sickly sort of dread. Against his better judgment, Frederick collected the fallen cloak, and agreed to go with him, if only to be sure he was all right. As he followed him to the tower stairwell, his torch burned out, dropping them both into darkness. The back he followed only looked somewhat familiar in the dark. They reached the room and Helvah made it a point to lock the door behind him. Now alone at the top of the castle, miles away from prying eyes, Helvah rounded on him, his mannerisms and behavior suddenly predatory. Feeling trapped and suddenly frightened, Frederick demanded that Helvah regain himself, smacking away the mocking hand that reached for him. The sound of that slap echoed endlessly into the gabled roof. At once, the figure looming over him froze, and his pale eyes grew dark in his face. "You struck me," was all that he said. The words were soft and filled with a chilling sort of...awe. Then, he struck Frederick, with all the strength of a train--and Frederick hit the wall. It was quickly becoming apparent that "Helvah" was not Helvah, ''but a stranger wearing his face. Crippled by fear and easily overpowered, Frederick suffered himself to be battered against several surfaces before being hurled onto the bed, the imposter laughing madly all the while at his attempts to resist. In an instant, he was fixed to the headboard, and the next thing "Helvah" did was break his wrist. The pain was immense, but tempered by something else--an unwelcome, sickly sort of pleasure that showed right away. The imposter laughed, as if having expected this outcome. Frederick was humiliated. And he had no way to escape. Over the next half an hour, he fractured half of Frederick's ribs, bit and clawed into his skin, all the while taunting him about the inexplicable responses he showed to the pain. Frederick spat and snapped at him, demanding to know what this man had done to his lover, even as the same man struck him again, and tore like a beast into his clothes. He ''was Helvah, he swore, in a voice that sounded nothing like him. He encouraged him to fight, if only because it would give him cause to hurt him further, insisting that such suffering was what Frederick's "kind" craved. The imposter was more than willing to oblige. Though his ramblings made no sense, his intentions were crystal-clear. Faced with what was undoubtedly the body of his lover, soon to be used as a weapon against him, Frederick did the only thing he could: he shouted for Helvah, wherever he was. And deep inside the imposter's head, something answered. It was then that Frederick saw the scars--the accusation carved into Helvah's right arm, which he had only shown him once--and he realized that it was him, imposed upon by something else. Even bloodied and bruised, Frederick called for Helvah, encouraging him to fight. He knew him, so well that he could tell the man above him was not him, and he knew that Helvah was good, and strong enough to overcome him. He tore at his broken wrist and kicked and clawed and shouted as hard as he could for Helvah to wake up. Above him, the imposter grew erratic, denying his claims of Helvah's power and inherent goodness, even as he struck him anew. But the blow was weaker than it had been, and it seemed the body on top of his had become like a puppet, jerking and halting, as a person tangled in wires. Despite the imposter's furious insistence, in an instant, Helvah awoke, forcing the foreign presence from his body in a singular burst of will. The nightmarish horror that rose from his back as he crumpled was visible only for an instant before it faded into the dark, leering all the while. Helvah recovered to find a very relieved Frederick pinned beneath him, scarcely dressed and badly beaten. Horrified, Helvah broke him free of the restraints, intent on hurrying him to the infirmary, all the while choking down sobs of utter misery at what he had nearly allowed to happen. What he had already allowed. Frederick comforted him, insisting on rest before he would allow himself to be taken. All he wanted was the safety of his presence for a moment more. Guilt-riddled and miserable, Helvah agreed, and the two of them lay in silence as the storm howled overhead. Sweet Surrender ...Is all that I have to give A week had passed since the terrible storm had torn into the castle grounds. Frederick had been healed that same night, dutifully tended by the palace staff. The night and its storm seemed to last forever. Then, the sun rose the next day, and everything was as it always had been. Helvah returned to his duties, and Frederick to his, each sparing nothing but a smile and a fond word for the other in passing. It was like nothing had ever happened that night...because, no one remembered it had. No one, except for him. Him, and the one who had done it. Marionette "Frederick" awoke that morning with a singular goal in his mind: getting even. He had been too late to intervene when the shit hit the fan, but he had seen enough in his charge's mind to know what to expect the next time. And with that type, there was always a next time. When next he showed his face, he had sworn he would be ready for him. After all, he had a job to do. And because "Frederick" was not Frederick, that could only mean that the time had come to sort out this other Helvah. Otherwise, he would not be there. Dressing for a hunt, "Frederick" headed out that day and made a beeline for the palace gardens. He did not have to go looking. He knew his prey would find him. Sure enough, no more than fifteen minutes after he entered the hedge maze, the long shadow of a feral-looking Helvah fell across his back. This Helvah was not the Helvah Frederick had known, but a twisted parody of him, wearing his figure like a marionette, slung from strands of too-long wire. At once, the imposter recognized his lack of fear and stance for what they were: signs that he was not the only one in the business of body-jacking. "You're the wrong one," accused the false Helvah, in a dire, rasping voice. "Frederick" feigned innocence none-too-convincingly, his back remaining turned even as the frightful possessed horror advanced on his back. A handful of exchanges and it was clear that neither of them was who they should be, and both of them knew it. Identifying himself as "Fred," and the imposter as the long-dead Vischias Sei'Dist, the entity made his move at last. As Vischias closed on him, whispering promises of pain and the want of a game, Fred gave him exactly what he asked for. Capturing his left hand, Fred drove a concealed knife through his palm. The attack broke two of Helvah's fingers, disabling Vischias' main hand. Torn between amusement and cold fury, Vischias batted him away, taking the weapon with him, only to discard it a moment later. Then, he advanced, intent on paying him back the harm tenfold. Fred didn't waste a moment; he turned tail and ran, mocking him every step as he raced him into the hedge maze. Cat and Mouse (To be completed) Witness Will we burn in heaven, like we do down here? Will the change come while we're waiting? '' (Fred gets back at Vischias for the gardens by knocking Helvah out to lure him in, and hanging him up from the ceiling. He comes armed with a whip. V disapproves.) Unnamed (The games continue, back and forth. Boundaries are set, and shockingly, respected. Helvah and Frederick are losing more and more of their time.) Fallen ''Heaven bend to take my hand and lead me through the fire Be the long awaited answer to a long and painful fight Truth be told, I've tried my best But somewhere along the way, I got caught up in all there was to offer And the cost was so much more than I could bear (People mutter about seeing a man leap off the roof. Vischias turns out to be deeper than he plays. Fred starts to question what it is that draws him to this particular mess--and why he suddenly cares.) Love Come (Vischias practices his Helvah routine using Frederick as a test dummy. Shenanigans ensue. Fred isn't jealous. Is he?) Silence Heaven holds a sense of wonder And I wanted to believe that I'd get caught up When the rage in me subsides (Fred and Vischias are beginning to struggle with mutual feelings of interest, and their hosts begin to get wise to their meddling. Things take a dangerous emotional turn.) Wait And in that light of forbidden joy I know I won't receive it '' (Vischias decides he wants Helvah's life, and Fred decides he wants Vischias. Jasper knows something's up. The last go-round before the end.) Do What You Have to Do ''And I have the sense to recognize that I don't know how to let you go (The final order is issued. Fred prepares to do his job. Vischias prepares to make one final choice that will endanger everything Helvah has worked for.) Full of Grace It's better this way (Helvah and Frederick deal with the aftermath of the prolonged game of chase. As they prepare to continue their lives, Fred decides he doesn't like this ending.)